CHP: Texting caused triple-fatal crash in Davis

Transport van in crash carried passengers with Cerebral Palsy

Three people died when a van carrying people with cerebral palsy and a truck crashed head on, said the California Highway Patrol.

SOURCE: David Bienick/KCRA

CHP: Texting caused triple-fatal crash in Davis

Transport van in crash carried passengers with Cerebral Palsy

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Updated: 3:13 PM PDT Jul 27, 2012

DAVIS, Calif. (KCRA) —

A violent collision earlier this month in Davis that killed three people and involved a large van transporting patients with cerebral palsy was caused by texting and driving, a preliminary California Highway Patrol report found.

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Jeffrey Richard Rivas, 52, of Woodland, was heading southbound on County Road 102 when witnesses said his Ford F-250 drifted into northbound traffic.

When Rivas drifted, his truck collided with the transport vehicle.

CHP investigators said that Rivas drifted onto oncoming traffic because he was texting while driving.

The preliminary findings also state that Rivas' cause of death was due to blunt-force trauma from the collision and having lethal levels of methamphetamine in his blood, CHP said.

The crash caused the front passenger compartment of both vehicles to collapse around the drivers, killing two almost immediately.

Rivas and Sara Moss, 35, a passenger abroad the van, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Moss was employee with United Cerebral Palsy of Sacramento. Moss leaves behind a husband and two teenage daughters.

Luz Torres, the driver of the transport van, was extricated from the driver’s seat. Torres suffered multiple injuries, including head trauma. She was taken to UC Davis Medical Center and remains in hospital care.

Laura Sue Weiderholt, 48, of Woodland, was also extricated from the transport bus and suffered head trauma. She was flown to Mercy San Juan Hospital where she later died from her injuries.

The remaining six passengers, who were all in wheelchairs or motorized scooters, were extricated and transported to local hospitals for treatment. One of them remains in the hospital and is receiving extensive treatment, the CHP said.